JJ REDICK SPEAKS ON BEING.ELIMINATED AND THE FUTURE OF LAKERS

 

LEBRON JAMES OFFERS BLUNT RESPONSE AFTER JJ REDICK'S VIRAL TAKE

 

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LeBron James kept his comments brief after the Lakers fell 0-2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, refusing to discuss the officiating drama despite JJ Redick’s strong postgame remarks.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was seemingly upset after their 125-107 loss on Thursday, which put them down 0-2 in the second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There was plenty of drama with the referees during and after the game, from Austin Reaves' confrontation with one of the officials to head coach JJ Redick's postgame comment, where he stated that LeBron gets the worst whistle of any star player he has ever seen.

LeBron, meanwhile, who finished Game 2 with 23 points and 6 assists, didn't engage in any talks about the refs and gave a short and blunt response after the loss.

"We're down 2-0," LeBron said while talking to the media postgame, via Dave McMenamin.

He was also asked about the viral JJ Redick take, to which he gave another short response.

"I don't know," he stated.

The series is now heading to Los Angeles, where the Lakers will try to protect their home court.

Game 3 will be played at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

- Basket News

CHRIS PAUL ISSUES STRONG MESSAGE TO JJ REDICK AFTER HOUSE LOST IN LA WILDERNESS

The Los Angeles Lakers returned to action on Monday night after postponing a pair of games due to the wildfires that are destroying southern California. Things didn't go too well for them, as the San Antonio Spurs destroyed them 126-102, but after the game, Chris Paul made a heartwarming gesture to his former teammate JJ Redick.

Redick, who is Los Angeles' head coach, lost his home to the fires in California. It's understandably been a tough time for him and his family, but he was thrilled to see the Lakers return to action on Monday after having previously said he wanted the team to keep on playing rather than postponing their games.

The Lakers head coach and his family lost quite a lot in the fire, including quite a bit of sports memorabilia that belonged to his sons, Knox and Kai. After the game, Paul and Victor Wembanyama gave Redick's sons their game-worn jerseys, with the legendary point guard reflecting on what the moment meant for him.

"You play a lot of years in this league and some guys are just teammates, but JJ is part of my family," Paul said after the game. "I know a lot of people lost family members, homes, and stuff like that. It just hits different when people are close to you...I actually told him today I wanted to do that for his boys. I know how big of basketball fans they are. It's just a tough situation." 

I asked Chris Paul about JJ Redick and gifting his kids with a jersey postgame: "I know a lot of people lost family members, homes. It just hits different when people are close to you…I told him today I wanted to do that for his boys. I know how big of basketball fans they are."

pic.twitter.com/gvh3EXVzMv

— LoJo Media (@LoJoMedia) January 14, 2025

Paul and Redick spent four years playing together on the Los Angeles Clippers, and they became quite close during that time. So, with Redick struggling through a tough time, Paul found a unique way to give back and help his family out by providing his sons with a moment they will never forget

Some things are bigger than basketball, and this is one such instance. Redick and the Lakers may not have gotten the win, but Paul and Wembanyama teamed up after the game to create a moment that Redick and his family will never forget, and that's ultimately what sports should be about.

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- Owen Crisafulli, Athlon Sports

REELING LAKERS SHARE IN BLAME AFTER 41- POINT LOSS TO HEAT

Dec 4, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks up at the scoreboard late in a game against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

MIAMI -- As Heat guard Tyler Herro went nuclear, hitting seven straight 3-pointers in the third quarter of a 134-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, it dawned on L.A. coach JJ Redick just how lost his team has become.

"We're having trouble right now on both ends with, like, base-level game-plan stuff," Redick said after the Lakers lost for the sixth time in the past eight games. "It's odd. It's very odd."

Odder still is how a team that was 10-4 just two weeks ago, with a chance to make it 11-4 if it only hit some late free throws against the Orlando Magic, is suddenly in free fall, losing those six games by an average of 21.8 points.

"Has to be some ownership," Redick said. "You can splinter, and it's easy to not want the ownership, particularly when it's embarrassing. I'm embarrassed. We're all embarrassed. It's not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism."

Redick added: "There has to be some ownership on the court and I'll take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I lead it and I'm embarrassed. But I can't physically get us organized. I can't physically be into the basketball. I can't physically talk and call out [switches] and physically call out coverages. ... And by the way, I'm not blaming players. It's not. I own this, but going to need some ownership on the court as well. ... There's not a sense from me that we're together right now."

LeBron James bounced back from a shooting slump to score 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range to break a streak of 20 straight missed 3s. But he did not quibble with Redick's remarks.

"I agree with everything JJ said," James said, making it clear he would not come off as unaligned with the first-year coach. "Whatever he said, I agree 100 percent, 1,000 percent."

James did, however, absolve Redick in his role in Wednesday's debacle, saying, "It's not on the coaches. It's definitely on us, for sure."

The Lakers were outrebounded 52-36 as Miami tied a franchise record for 3s in a regular-season game by going 24-for-47, including 9-for-16 from Herro, who finished with a team-high 31 points. Meanwhile, the Lakers went 5-for-22 (22.7%) from deep.

Anthony Davis, who not too long ago was considered an early-season MVP candidate, volunteered for the lion's share of the blame after scoring a season-low eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. This after Davis had previously set his season low with 12 points Monday, going 4-for-14 from the field in a 29-point loss against Minnesota.

"I have the utmost confidence in this group and this coaching staff," Davis said. "I personally just think it starts with me. If I play better, then guys play better. I definitely take accountability, especially the last couple of games. Just not being there for the team on the offensive end."

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent had nine points and three steals off the bench but was still part of a Lakers second unit that was outscored 51-28 by Miami's reserves. He characterized his team's mood as "upset."

"I think we're definitely far off from where we want to be and where we expect to be this time of the year," Vincent said.

James, who is the oldest player in the NBA and will turn 40 on Dec. 30, preached patience even while admitting, "It sucks for sure to get your ass whooped like that twice in a row."

Moving forward, he urged the Lakers to "stay even-keeled," adding, "I've been in this game way too long. Never get too high, never get too low. Because I know how fast this s--- turns."

Davis aimed for the turnaround to begin when the Lakers conclude their four-game trip Friday against an Atlanta Hawks team riding a five-game winning streak.

"Just got to find a way, to be honest," Davis said. "Find a way in Atlanta to get the dub."

- Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer

LAKERS MULL HISTORIC LEBRON-BRONNY GAME

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick already has started thinking about LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court together this season, but he said he will involve both players when it comes to putting a plan in place for when and how that moment happens.

"We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we've gotten into some specifics of what that might look like," Redick said Wednesday during a joint news conference with Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka. "But we haven't committed to anything. And obviously, there's a discussion to be had once we're all together with Bronny and LeBron, too. They should be a part of that discussion as well."

LeBron is 39 and entering his 22nd season. Bronny is 19 and entering his rookie year after L.A. drafted him in the second round (No. 55 overall) after he played one season at USC.

While the regular season doesn't begin until Oct. 22, when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves, Pelinka said the team already has seen a glimpse of the James bloodline in action during a pickup game at the practice facility this week.

"[Bronny] got switched onto LeBron, and LeBron took him baseline, up and under off the glass," Pelinka said. "The words exchanged afterward were probably more challenging than anything else."

LeBron shared some mild-mannered trash talk Wednesday on his Instagram account, posting Pelinka's quote about the father-son pickup sequence and writing, "Great defense. Better O."

Redick, entering his first season on the sideline after leaving behind a burgeoning broadcasting and podcasting career, did not sound fazed by the additional assignment of managing the James family while also the team at large.

"I don't look at it as a challenge," Redick said. "It's unique from any other challenge of coaching a player or coaching a relationship. Bronny, I feel very fortunate that I get to coach him because he's young and he's hungry, and he's got a lot of inherent skill sets that we can really mold into a really good NBA player. On top of that, he's a fantastic kid. He's extremely coachable. He's got the right spirit and energy every single day. So ... it's not something I've really thought of as a challenge."

The bigger challenge than how to find time for his best player and a rookie who figures to spend a lot of time in the G League together is how to keep the Lakers competitive in a crowded Western Conference field.

Following a first-round playoff exit after earning the No. 7 seed with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament, L.A. is largely returning the same team.

And while the time off has allowed Gabe Vincent and second-year guard Jalen Hood-Schifino to heal and be ready to report to next week's training camp fully healthy, according to Pelinka, there are still injuries affecting the roster.

Jarred Vanderbilt underwent procedures on his feet in the offseason, Pelinka revealed Wednesday. He had a midfoot injury in his right foot addressed and a bone spur in his left heel cleaned up.

"We have a lot of optimism that when the real games start, he'll be available," Pelinka said of Vanderbilt. "Between now and then, there is still about a month, and there are a lot of ramp up steps that need to go well, so hopefully there won't be setbacks."

And backup center Christian Wood continues to be sidelined after having a scope on his left knee earlier this month.

- Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer

CAMELO ANTHONY EXPLAINS WHY KOBE BRYANT 'COULDN'T STAND' JJ REDICK DURING 2008 TEAM USA TRYOUTS

 JJ Redick is set to be the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach. And while he never played for the team, he does have a history with some of its legends. While on "7PM in Brooklyn" this week, Carmelo Anthony shared a story of how Kobe Bryant "couldn't stand" Redick during the Team USA tryouts.

Mike Krzyzewski was the Team USA head coach, and he had some history with Redick as he had coached him at Duke. Krzyzewski was raving about the former Blue Devil, who was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and the 2006 National Player of the Year. 

"I remember Kobe couldn't stand JJ Redick," Anthony, who retired with the Lakers in 2023, retold. 

Although he did not specify the date, it seems this story took place ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games. Redick was just about two seasons into the league after being drafted 11th overall by the Orlando Magic. Bryant, who at this point had already played in the NBA for 12 seasons and had earned three NBA championships with the Lakers, allegedly gave Redick a hard time during practice. 

"He got tired of Coach K talking about JJ Redick," Anthony said in the podcast. "Kob took it very, very personal. To the point where he was running through screens in practice. He was denying JJ the ball. Fouling the s**t out of JJ. I'm like, why are you treating the young boy like that?"

"...This Motherf****r ain't let JJ Redick score in practice," he added.

Redick competed with the USA Basketball Under-21 Team in 2005 and won gold medals at the World Championship and the Global Games. However, he never made it to the Team USA Olympics roster. As for Bryant, he won gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and also the 2012 London Games.

SOURCES: LAKERS HIRING JJ REDICK TO FOUR-YEAR DEAL TO COACH TEAM

 The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a four-year contract with JJ Redick to make him the franchise's next coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Redick, an ESPN NBA analyst who played 15 years in the league, met with Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss over the weekend, and conversations on the vacancy continued throughout the week, sources said.

Pelinka offered Redick the job Thursday morning, sources said.

Pelinka became sold on Redick's ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ and believes surrounding Redick with an elite coaching staff will help shorten his learning curve into his first coaching job, sources said.

Redick moved into the forefront of the search a week ago after the Lakers' pursuit of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley was ultimately rebuffed.

The Lakers offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million contract that he turned down early last week, sources said.

As Pelinka sought with Hurley, he still wants a teaching coach and staff who will prioritize the development of young players such as Max Christie, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and can design a creative approach to featuring Anthony Davis on both ends of the floor, sources said.

Redick has a strong relationship with Lakers star LeBron James, with whom he co-hosts a basketball podcast.

- Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN

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